“The Skillipot Chain Ferry from Port Ewen to Rondout, N.Y.” Postcard circa 1907. On postcards there are different spelling for Skillipot/Skillypot. Postcards were often done by traveling salesmen and their knowledge of local sites and names were often incorrect.
Last Trip of the Skillypot
Author Captain William Odell Benson was a life-long resident of Sleightsburgh, N.Y., where he was born on March 17, 1911, the son of the late Albert and Ida Olson Benson. He served as captain of Callanan Company tugs including Peter Callanan, and Callanan No. 1 and was an early member of the Hudson River Maritime [Read More…]
David Auchmoody in the American War for Independence
Published by the Huguenot Historical Society in 1977, Ulster County in the Revolution is a testament to the American Patriots of that war and to the dedication of historians and researchers long gone. Its introduction makes clear it is about identifying those men who served under arms. The book took six-years of detailed research by [Read More…]
The Austin J40 and Other Tales of Pedal Cars
It all began in 1974. My father had “rescued” a pedal car from the Esopus dump and it sat in front of his garage, a small rusting presence, where I spied it. “What are you going to do with it?” I inquired. “Why? You want it?” he replied. It was in my Saab trunk before [Read More…]
Mid-Hudson Bridge Historian Seeks the Story Only You Know
Help Document A More Complete Story of the Building of the Mid-Hudson Bridge
Author Kathryn Burke is an accomplished historian. She has researched and penned two books on the history of the Hudson River bridges. She was the director of Historic Bridges of the Hudson Valley, and a long-time educator. She now works to document new stories, especially about the people who worked on the Mid-Hudson Bridge, and [Read More…]
Early Education
There was a new sheriff in town. A very new sheriff. When the image (above) arrived in the mail from an ebay seller, I was taken aback by how young Deputy Sheriff Hans Hanson looked. Indeed. Because he was. The Gardiner Industrial Colony In researching Gardiner’s Industrial Colony noted in the photo’s caption, a New [Read More…]
